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Alternative use: the Aten asteroid
Aten asteroid

The Aten asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids, named after the first of the group to be discovered . They are defined by having semi-major axis of less than one astronomical unit ....
s, named after 2062 Aten
2062 Aten

'2062 Aten' is an asteroid that was discovered at the Mount Palomar Observatory by Eleanor F. Helin, who is now the principal scientist for the NEAT project....


Aten (or Aton) was the disk of the sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
 in ancient Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt over at least 3,000 years, from the Predynastic Egypt until the adoption of Coptic Christianity in the early centuries Common Era....
, and originally an aspect of Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
. He became the deity of the monotheistic
Monotheism

In theology, monotheism is the belief that only one god exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the Neoplatonism concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite....
 — in fact, monistic
Monism

Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the Universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is one God, with many manifestations in different...
 — religion
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
 Atenism
Atenism

Atenism is one of the earliest known, well-documented, monotheistic religions, associated with the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten....
 of Amenhotep IV, who took the name Akhenaten
Akhenaten

Akhenaten , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, who died 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for attempting to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheism worship of Aten, although there are doubts as to how successful he was at this....
.






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Alternative use: the Aten asteroid
Aten asteroid

The Aten asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids, named after the first of the group to be discovered . They are defined by having semi-major axis of less than one astronomical unit ....
s, named after 2062 Aten
2062 Aten

'2062 Aten' is an asteroid that was discovered at the Mount Palomar Observatory by Eleanor F. Helin, who is now the principal scientist for the NEAT project....


Aten Disk
Aten (or Aton) was the disk of the sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
 in ancient Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt over at least 3,000 years, from the Predynastic Egypt until the adoption of Coptic Christianity in the early centuries Common Era....
, and originally an aspect of Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
. He became the deity of the monotheistic
Monotheism

In theology, monotheism is the belief that only one god exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the Neoplatonism concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite....
 — in fact, monistic
Monism

Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the Universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is one God, with many manifestations in different...
 — religion
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
 Atenism
Atenism

Atenism is one of the earliest known, well-documented, monotheistic religions, associated with the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten....
 of Amenhotep IV, who took the name Akhenaten
Akhenaten

Akhenaten , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, who died 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for attempting to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheism worship of Aten, although there are doubts as to how successful he was at this....
. The worship of Aten seemed to stop shortly after Akhenaten's death. In his poem "Hymn to Aten," Akhenaten praises Aten as the creator, and giver of life.

Overview


Aten was the life-giving force of light. The full title of Akhenaten's god was The Rahorus who rejoices in the horizon, in his/her Name of the Light which is seen in the sun disc. (This is the title of the god as it appears on the numerous stelae which were placed to mark the boundaries of Akhenaten's new capital at Amarna
Amarna

The site of Amarna is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the modern Egyptian province of Minya Governorate, some 58 km south of the city of al-Minya, 312 km south of the Egyptian capital Cairo and 402 km north of Luxor....
, or "Akhetaten.") This lengthy name was often shortened to Ra-Horus-Aten or just Aten in many texts, but the god of Akhenaten raised to supremacy is considered a synthesis
Syncretism

Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contrary beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term may refer to attempts to merge and analogy several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, and thus assert an underlying unity allowing for an inclu...
 of very ancient gods viewed in a new and different way.

Both Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
 and Horus
Horus

Horus is a god of the Ancient Egyptian religion, most commonly known by the Greek language version Horus, of the Egyptian language Heru/Har....
 characteristics are part of the god, but the god is also considered to be both masculine and feminine simultaneously. All creation was thought to emanate from the god and to exist within the god. In particular, the god was not depicted in anthropomorphic (human) form, but as rays of light extending from the sun's disk. Furthermore, the god's name came to be written within a cartouche
Cartouche

In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oblong inclosure with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a pharaoh name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt under Pharaoh Sneferu....
, along with the titles normally given to a Pharaoh
Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
, another break with ancient tradition.

The Aten, the sun-disk, first appears in texts dating to the 12th dynasty
Twelfth dynasty of Egypt

The Eleventh , Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Middle Kingdom of Egypt....
, in The Story of Sinuhe, where the deceased king is described as rising as god to the heavens and uniting with the sun-disk, the divine body merging with its maker.

Ra-Horus, more usually referred to as Ra-Herakhty (Ra, who is Horus of the two horizons), is a synthesis of two other gods, both of which are attested from very early on. During the Amarna
Amarna

The site of Amarna is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the modern Egyptian province of Minya Governorate, some 58 km south of the city of al-Minya, 312 km south of the Egyptian capital Cairo and 402 km north of Luxor....
 period, this synthesis was seen as the invisible source of energy of the sun god, of which the visible manifestation was the Aten, the solar disk. Thus Ra-Horus-Aten was a development of old ideas which came gradually. The real change, as some see it, was the apparent abandonment of all other gods, above all Amun
Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian language Yamanu , was the name of a deity in Egyptian mythology who gradually rose from being an abstract concept to the patron deity of Thebes, Egypt and one of the most important deities in Ancient Egypt before fading into obscurity....
, and the introduction of monotheism
Monotheism

In theology, monotheism is the belief that only one god exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the Neoplatonism concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite....
 by Akhenaten. The syncretism is readily apparent in the Great Hymn to the Aten
Great Hymn to the Aten

The Great Hymn to the Aten was found in the Southern Tomb 25 of Ay, in the rock tombs at Amarna. It is attributed to Pharaoh Akhenaten himself, and gives us a glimpse of the artistic outpouring of the Atenism....
 in which Re-Herakhty, Shu
Shu

Shu may refer to:*Shu * ? , an abbreviation of Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China, as well as the following historical regimes that existed in this region:...
 and Aten are merged into the creator god. Others see Akhenaten as a practitioner of an Aten monolatry.

Royal Titulary

During the Amarna Period, the Aten was given a Royal Titulary (as he was considered to be king of all), with his names drawn in a cartouche
Cartouche

In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oblong inclosure with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a pharaoh name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt under Pharaoh Sneferu....
. There were two forms of this title, the first had the names of other gods, and the second later one which was more 'singular' and referred only to the Aten himself. The early form has Re-Horakhti who rejoices in the Horizon, in his name Shu
Shu (Egyptian deity)

In Egyptian mythology, Shu is one of the primordial gods, a personification of air, one of the Ennead of Heliopolis . He was created by Atum from his breath, resulting from an act of masturbation or autofellatio in the city of Heliopolis....
 which is the Aten. The later form has Re, ruler of the two horizons who rejoices in the Horizon, in his name of light which is the Aten.

Small Aten Temple

Variant vocalizations

The name as been vocalized as Aton, Atonu, Itni, Itn, and Adon.

Variant translations


  • Because high relief and low relief illustrations of the Aten show it with a curved surface (see for example the photograph illustrating this article), the late scholar Hugh Nibley
    Hugh Nibley

    Hugh Winder Nibley was a professor at Brigham Young University and an apologist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While occupying no official position of religious authority, his works—which were mainly concerned with finding archaeological, linguistic, and historical evidence that the claims of Joseph Smith, Jr....
     insisted that a more correct translation would be globe, orb or sphere, rather than disk. The three-dimensional spherical shape of the Aten is even more evident when such reliefs are viewed in person, rather than merely in photographs.
  • There is a possibility that Aten's three-dimensional spherical shape depicts an eye. In the other early monotheistic religion Zoroastrianism
    Zoroastrianism

    Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster, after whom the religion is named. The term Zoroastrianism is in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e., the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority....
     the sun is called Ahura Mazda
    Ahura Mazda

    Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator, hence God.The Zoroastrianism is described by its adherents as Mazdayasna, the worship of Mazda....
    's eye.
  • These two theories are compatible with each other, since an eye is an orb.


Names from the Aten

  • Akhenaten
    Akhenaten

    Akhenaten , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, who died 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for attempting to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheism worship of Aten, although there are doubts as to how successful he was at this....
    : "Effective spirit of the Aten."
  • Akhetaten: "Horizon of the Aten," Akhenaten's capital. The archaeological site is known as Amarna
    Amarna

    The site of Amarna is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the modern Egyptian province of Minya Governorate, some 58 km south of the city of al-Minya, 312 km south of the Egyptian capital Cairo and 402 km north of Luxor....
    .
  • Meritaten
    Meritaten

    Meritaten also spelled Merytaten or Meryetaten was an Ancient Egypt queen of the 18th dynasty, who held the position of Great Royal Wife to Pharaoh Smenkhkare, who may have been a brother or son of Akhenaten....
    : "Beloved of the Aten."
  • Tutankhaten: "Living image of the Aten." Original name of Tutankhamon.


See also

  • Moses
    Moses

    Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
  • Atenism
    Atenism

    Atenism is one of the earliest known, well-documented, monotheistic religions, associated with the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten....
  • Great Hymn to the Aten
    Great Hymn to the Aten

    The Great Hymn to the Aten was found in the Southern Tomb 25 of Ay, in the rock tombs at Amarna. It is attributed to Pharaoh Akhenaten himself, and gives us a glimpse of the artistic outpouring of the Atenism....
  • Kefa
    Kefa

    Kefa is the original Aramaic form of the name that appears in the Greek New Testament as "Kefas" and in the English Bible as "Cephas," or Peter....
  • Makhshava
    Makhshava

    Makhshava is a Hebrew language word commonly translated as "thought." Dr. Hugh Nibley, however, maintained that "plan" is a better translation. Biblical passages in which makhshava "definitely should be" translated as "plan" include, according to Dr....
  • Shiblon
    Shiblon

    According to the Book of Mormon, Shiblon was a Nephite missionary and record-keeper. He was the second son of Alma the Younger, who was the first chief judge....
  • Amun
    Amun

    Amun, reconstructed Egyptian language Yamanu , was the name of a deity in Egyptian mythology who gradually rose from being an abstract concept to the patron deity of Thebes, Egypt and one of the most important deities in Ancient Egypt before fading into obscurity....
  • Pharaoh of the Exodus
    Pharaoh of the Exodus

    In the Bible, the name of the Pharaoh of the Exodus is not given. He is simply called "Pharaoh." Muslims also believe in the exodus, as the story is told in the Muslim holy book the Qur'an , although some details of the story are different....
  • Inti
    Inti

    According to the Inca mythology, Inti is the sun god, as well a patron deity of Tahuantinsuyu. His exact origin is not known. The most common story says he is the son of Viracocha, the god of civilization....